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Readers assess Dallas’ strengths and weaknesses, prescribe steps the city should take to improve itself

In advance of the New Cities Summit and the U.S. Conference of Mayors, The Dallas Morning News asked readers to share their thoughts about the city’s strengths and weaknesses and how it might be improved.

We received over 300 responses through email, Twitter, Facebook, dallasnews.com and the U.S. Postal Service.

The results are thoroughly unscientific, but they nonetheless provide a good look into what people want for the future of their town.

Not surprisingly, there was a consensus that streets, schools and crime rates need improvement.

There were serious divisions. Proposals to tear down Interstate 345 on the east side of downtown and to build a toll road along the Trinity River came in for both criticism and support. Klyde Warren Park was popular. The cost of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge was not.

More broadly, some readers felt that local leadership lacked a bold vision. More felt that big projects were taking the focus away from the basics.

But Richard Morgan spoke for others: “Maybe if we didn’t spend tens of millions on decorative arches for our bridges we would have enough funds to maintain our basic infrastructures.”

Perhaps the most interesting responses were those in which readers offered proposals to improve city life.

Some were concrete:

“The city could rent out sidewalk spaces nominally in areas of high pedestrian activity — makes for filling out sidewalks and provides a reason for people to leave their houses,” Pradipta Ray wrote.

Some were less specific:

“I would like to see the city invest (financially and strategically) in fostering a culture of creativity ... a general movement toward empowering local resources (students, professionals) and help transform them into pioneers,” Eddie Lott said in a posting.

The following are just a few of the particularly thoughtful responses.

The best thing Dallas can do for itself is stop comparing itself to other places and ask what it wants to be when it grows up.

I think what Dallas ultimately wants to be is the perfect balance between being big-business-friendly and environmentally sustainable. It wants people to move here because there are good jobs and low cost of living, and to stay here because they know it’ll be here chugging away long after they’re dead and gone.

I don’t think it’s possible to achieve such a balance, and I think Dallas will find itself, during my lifetime, as a place that sold so much of itself to big business that there’s nothing left worth sustaining. But we shall see. And I hope I’m wrong.

Greg Pettigrew says elected officials need to put more effort into preserving and utilizing roads and natural landmarks.

Greg Pettigrew

Birmingham, Ala.
(Dallas native)

The biggest thing holding Dallas back is city and county leadership. It seems if anything gets done, it is the private sector that is responsible. The city mismanages Fair Park, lost the Dallas Cowboys years ago, and failed to get the Texas Rangers to move. In addition, there is a great arts district downtown, but that is because of the private sector.

TxDOT did a beautiful job of rebuilding North Central Expressway years ago. It has now become a neglected eyesore. The nice plantings have been replaced by large weeds. City leaders need to step up and insist TxDOT do its job in maintaining its roadways.

Dallas also needs to be vocal in getting revenue from TxDOT for FREEways for the area instead of just automatically handing everything over to the NTTA. The people in the Dallas area pay for roads already. Turning highways into tollways is theft.

And the Trinity River could be such an asset to Dallas. Town lakes would spur development and create something spectacular for Dallas.

OKC has transformed their river into something usable. The Oklahoma River is not a pretty venue, but the people of Oklahoma City love it and it attracts a wide variety of events. The Trinity has the potential to be 100 times better. The main difference is OKC took action. Dallas almost refuses to.

But Dallas has a great restaurant and bar scene, beautiful parks and a great trail system developing. Dallas is a great city. It could be a phenomenal city if elected officials would do their jobs.

Ryan Bloss puts a premium on creating a more urban and walkable area in Dallas’ core zone. (G.J. McCarthy/The Dallas Morning News)

Ryan Bloss

Oak Lawn

To create a more urban and walkable area in the core zone, the following policies should be considered high priority and not vanity:

Change the mind-set that the priority is vehicles in the central neighborhoods of Dallas. The city should form a core zone from Knox-Henderson to north Oak Cliff and over to Deep Ellum and set the zoning requirements to a more specified urban standard. The metroplex is huge and full of many suburban options. Why not focus on creating a core that is completely different from the rest of the metroplex, an area that is very walkable, urban, connected and inviting?

Sidewalks should not be a luxury. No new projects such as lakes or toll roads should be built while areas in central Dallas are without sidewalks. Sidewalk width requirements should be adopted and strongly enforced. For example, the sidewalks along McKinney Avenue are so narrow, when two people cross paths, someone has to step into the street.

Developers should be required to put the building fronts along the street and place any parking in the back. This creates a visually pleasing and walkable environment as well as a parking solution.

Add modern streetcar lines throughout Deep Ellum, Uptown and Oak Lawn. You should be able to hop on a streetcar and access each neighborhood easily. Tourists also feel more secure riding on rails, as bus routes can be confusing.

Bike lanes should be required as roads are repaved (which is badly needed).

Close Flora in the Arts District to vehicular traffic.

Create a citizens group where Dallas residents can meet regularly with city leadership to provide ideas and feedback.

Incorporating these ideas would greatly improve the quality of life and urban fabric in the core area of Dallas. Let’s focus on creating a unique, dynamic environment that will benefit the region.

I moved to Dallas four years ago from Southern California. I am now a Texan and I love living in Texas. However, there is no perfect place to live, so when I critique the Dallas infrastructure it is with that understanding.

I plan to live here in the Park Forest [neighborhood] on Cromwell Circle for one more year and then move north. ... As you move north, the infrastructure changes for the better.

Over the past few years, I have asked friends and associates why the streets in our area are so bad and the responses vary from, “The soil is bad” to “South Dallas gets all of the money” and “The affluent get all the money.”

The bottom line: If the city of Dallas wants the city to live better, feel better and look better, then fix it.

Dallas has made some improvements in adding more bike trails and making the city more bike- and pedestrian-friendly, but it is taking way too long. The demand is there, so I’m not sure why the city can’t make this a top priority.

Outside Magazine [recently] named the “Least Outdoorsy Cities in America.” And Dallas was No. 1! Meaning, we were voted the worst.

I hope in the near future that the city puts all they can into creating many more green spaces, bikes trails, bike-friendly roads, etc., etc. ...

Why do we have to have a “new” Dallas? Why can’t we build on the existing Dallas we have and make what we have a better place? We have an abundance of historic buildings, most of which are just one real estate developer away from being torn down. A city that doesn’t celebrate its past, that is always seeking the next big, shiny idea, is a city without a soul.

Jennifer Meier:

We need better incentives to encourage people to recycle, and better multifamily recycling options. We need more parks and green space, and less traffic. We need better water conservation and incentives to encourage people to xeriscape their yards. We need to make the city bike-friendly.

Big Ideas

Dave McNamara:

Dallas needs a “real” town lake as originally proposed. The present proposal for a series of “puddles” will diminish our city. We also don’t need a freeway in the middle of the levees.

Damian Outlaw:

A baseball stadium with a retractable roof located in downtown Dallas.

Verlon Cross:

Create a day pass (or two-day pass) to the museums in both Dallas and Fort Worth. Make a DART pass part of the ticket. Market this in the airport and online.

Bill Betzen:

Once Dallas eliminates that extra through-traffic from downtown, downtown Dallas will be a much more pleasant place to live that will command constantly higher prices! The need for a river-bottom toll road will be gone! Dallas will have the largest central park in the nation, if not the world!

Kyle Delp:

We need more hotel space in downtown, we need more walkable paths between venues (not just a bus). We need pedestrian walkways with trees and/or man-made shade, street vendors (not just food trucks). West End MUST be revitalized with inviting and interesting cafes. The new trolley line going to funky Oak Cliff is great — now add a line to Oak Lawn and build the Knox/Henderson underground DART station and you might start creating a city that can move without a car.

Clay Boatright:

As the population of people with disabilities, particularly autism, continues to grow, we need new innovative solutions for housing, recreation, employment, etc.

Big Problems

Ricardo Paniagua:

The lack of emphasis on recycling and deprivation of public drop-off Dumpsters/containers is inexcusable. It’s a major issue. Another problem is City Hall itself. It needs to be knocked down and replaced with a new building. It’s ugly and has bad energy.

Bob Stern:

We should also have some requirement that each new apartment in a high-rise is linked to X square feet of nearby green space.

Adrian Segura:

As the city grows, we need to be known for being a clean city, meaning be more responsible with our trash and how we dispose of it.

Sally Sampson:

The drug culture controls South Dallas/Oak Cliff. We need to get serious about cleaning it up. So many good people live there, trapped, in fear of their neighbors.

Sal Longo:

The trip from Love [Field] to I-35 is an embarrassment. Or the other way to Lemmon. This is the first thing people see when they land in Dallas. The city needs to get their head straight!

Transportation

Shirley Miller:

Selling the DART station naming rights is one of the WORST ideas I have heard in the last 50 years here. Just how difficult do they want to make it for natives and VISITORS to get around in this town? But that’s Dallas. Dallas goes to the highest bidder.

Allison and Brent Ryan:

Dallas is not a tourist-friendly city. Getting off a plane into a cab, into a hotel, into a cab to arrive at your destination is not tourist-friendly.

James Rockwell:

While you are at it, put a DART rail station at 75 and Knox/Henderson. That is where I live.

Jennifer Zamora-Jamison:

It is time we join the nation and ban cellphones and driving. Our family and friends are dying at an alarming rate because of these preventable tragedies. Asking and educating people to please stop driving distracted is not working.

Housing/Jobs

Christopher Bates:

Dallas has the best skyline ever and is the best city to be in at night! But Dallas is still a bit pretentious and needs to do more to bring up those less fortunate than those who call all the shots. Don’t get me wrong — it will always be home to me, but we can do more to end poverty and homelessness.

Lawanda Faye Heard:

I have been employed for about four years, but as a retail store manager I didn’t have much trouble with the job aspect. But finding affordable housing in a good neighborhood has been an issue.

Dylan Rafaty:

As a person with a disability and founder/president of DylanListed (focused on increasing employment opportunities for all persons with disabilities in a national community), we need to set up new initiatives in growing this community by providing an outstanding number of resources that help folks like me to live a better and healthier life.

Scott Allison:

Moved here from the U.K. and I have to say, despite what I hear have been massive rises in rentals, comparatively the cost of living is substantially lower than other countries (and other U.S. states). Don’t forget you get much more square footage for your money as well, so all in all it’s a pretty good deal!

Alejandra Corona:

Both my husband and I have a job and live in downtown Dallas. Rent is ridiculously expensive and day care is almost as expensive as the rent. We are moving to the suburbs this summer and buying a house for the same monthly payment as our lease.

Susan Rucks:

Moved here after college 15 years ago. Tons of jobs in my field (accounting). Glad I bought a condo 10 years ago.

Marc Harper:

After living in a high-rise near downtown for 12 years, I moved to the burbs. Twice the space at half the price and just as nice. The hard part for me is the j-o-b.

Shanna Crawford:

Been laid off 11 times in Dallas in the last 10 years. Can’t speak to rent as I own my house, but what I can speak to is the taxes on my house are absolutely outrageous. Almost worth moving to the suburbs.

Schools

Chris Carathers:

Families and companies make decisions about location based on schools! If you want people to move to your community, you have to have great schools!

Lisbeth Rives:

DISD is deplorable. I love Dallas, but I will have to move out of the city limits when we have kids because there is no way I’m putting them in the DISD system.

Charles Strahan:

Break it all up into individual neighborhood districts that serve into one high school per district. Keep it local.

Lisa Lundquist Leary:

As empty nesters, we considered moving to Dallas for all the awesome experiences and amenities it offers but will not because we will not support a failed ISD with our property taxes!